


A little Halloween's tale

by amamiya_toki



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Halloween, Non-Canonical Backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 05:45:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8433982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amamiya_toki/pseuds/amamiya_toki
Summary: Halloween is rarely celebrated in Japan unlike other parts of the world, but when the opportunity comes for the children to go trick-or-treating, little Nanase Riku decided that he would go no matter what. Of course, his dearest brother Tenn would be with him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to rush this but I didn't make it in time!
> 
> It had been a fruitful weekend at WGP and Idolicious, and I got more Tenn stuff than I had expected! I'll have that in more detail on my Facebook page in a while; I have an article to finish. 
> 
> Idolicious was not big per se, but it was fun! To the people who made it happen, thank you so much for your hard work!
> 
> Enjoy!

Halloween. 

An event celebrated differently in various countries, sometimes not celebrated at all. However, regardless of the location, it is always celebrated on the 31st of October.

In Japan, many places simply celebrate Halloween by releasing themed meals or items for sale. For the people, dressing up in costumes was a common thing. However, trick-or-treating was a rare thing, as it was something that was seen as being a troublesome event.

Despite that, it was decided that it would be done as an event at a certain shopping district, which was located close to a neighbourhood with a lot of young children. Each of the shops would prepare a portion of candy for the children, who would be dressed up in a variety of costumes and given a plastic bucket in the shape of a jack-o'-lantern to collect their treats. 

Hearing of this, the younger of the seven-year-old twins of the Nanase family who lived in the area insisted that he and his older brother participate in the event as well. However, as he was born with a weak constitution, there were some concerns from his family about his condition. Seeing that he had been doing fine for the past few weeks and the coldness of the coming season had yet to settle in, he was given permission to take part.

The boys were allowed to choose their own costumes, despite their parents wanting to have them wear matching ones. The younger of the brothers, Riku, having taken inspiration from one of his favourite books, wanted to be a vampire. On the other hand, Tenn, the older brother, wanted to be a phantom thief. Their costumes were almost entirely made by hand, courtesy of their mother's skilful hands.

On the big night, the boys quickly got dressed into their costumes the minute they finished their favourite dinner, omelette rice. As their parents were busy with their family business, they quickly said their farewells and left their home towards the shopping district, hand-in-hand while singing a little song as they walked.

"Riku, are you feeling cold?"

"Nopes! Tenn-nii's hand is really warm!"

"That wasn't what I was referring to, but let me know if you're feeling unwell, okay?"

"Aye!"

The shopping district, located right next to the station, was only ten minutes away by foot from the Nanase family home if they cut through the park as a shortcut. Its layout was simple: there was the main street where most of the shops are located and a few branched out lanes where most of the eateries were located. For this event, only the shops located on the main street were involved. Most of the owners were more than happy to participate, them being parents or grandparents themselves.

"Wow! Tenn-nii, look! The street's dressed up too!"

"It really is... amazing."

"More than amazing; it's totally awesome!"

Teaming up with the parents' association of the nearby elementary school, the street was decorated with lights and decals, just to set the mood for Halloween. Of course, to ensure the safety of the children, volunteers were recruited from the local high school to watch over them.

"Riku, don't start running off on your own, okay?" 

"Tenn-nii, you're sounding like mom. I already said I'm fine so you don't have to worry so much. Sheesh."

The boys came from the south of the street, so they decided to start on one side of the street, turn back at the station's exit and visit the other side on their way back. Some of the shopkeepers were also dressed up in costumes, some putting on a simple black cape with a witch's hat or in a complete outfit like a superhero. 

As there were times when Tenn, and sometimes Riku, would help their parents with the grocery shopping, the shop owners were no strangers to them.

"Oh, my, Tenn-kun and Riku-kun! Welcome, welcome!" The middle-aged lady whose family ran the green grocer's gave them a big smile as they approached her. "Both of you are so adorable today!" 

"Thank you, auntie!" They replied in unison before holding up their buckets. "Trick or treat!"

"Yes yes, here you go!" She dropped in two small pieces of chocolate into each of their containers. "Riku-kun, I'm glad that you're able to participate in this event tonight. Let any of us know if you're feeling unwell, alright?"

"Sure!"

"Tenn-kun too, you've become dependable in looking after your younger brother. Everyone is proud of you."

"Thank you."

When the trick-or-treating was done, both brothers had managed to fill their buckets with many treats. Many of them were small items like candy or chocolate, while there were occasional snacks like flavoured corn snacks and even a mini-manjuu from the traditional confectionary.

"We got lots of snacks today, didn't we, Tenn-nii?"

Riku was beaming with joy as the two set out for home. As they had arrived a lot earlier than the rest of the children, they also finished just as early. As such, they set out for home as soon as they could, as Tenn was concerned that the cold may affect his younger brother's health.

"Say, Tenn-nii, could we eat some now?" Riku asked as they entered the park. "I'm kind of hungry." 

"You'd better ask mom about that."

"But you know mom won't let us eat candy and snacks after dinner. She won't know if it's just one little piece, right?"

"Even so, we should ask her first. Remember the time you ate some chocolate without asking and fell sick with a sore throat after that?"

"That was because I was careless! Just one piece! It won't hurt, really!"

Seeing his brother plead made Tenn want to give in, but he knows that he needs to be firm with him, the way his parents were with the both of them. "No means no, Riku. You're already in elementary school, so don't be so spoiled."

Having his request refused by his beloved older brother, again and again, made Riku mad. He pouted furiously, cheeks reddened and puffed up like a tomato. "Tenn-nii's an idiot! I hate you!"

"Urk!"

It was super effective!

Stunned by the outburst, Tenn was unable to move or react. He paused in his steps, becoming as stiff as a statue. He could not even call out to his younger brother, who had begun to run ahead of him.

It was dark, even with the lamps illuminating the pavement. When Riku thought that he had run far enough, he turned around to see if Tenn was behind him, and to his relief he was not. However, his lungs became strained due to the sudden burst of activity and he was forced to stop to catch his breath. 

For a moment, he considered if he should wait for Tenn to catch up with him or continue heading home on his own since he knew the way back. However, he had unintentionally said some mean things to his older brother and felt guilty about it. There was no way he could actually hate him, but he got carried away. He would apologise, but what if he was not forgiven for what he said? That scared him more than anything else.

"I wonder if Tenn-nii hates me now..." He mumbled under his breath with his head hung low, wiping away the tears that were starting to pool in his eyes.

"Hey there, kid. You lost?"

A brash voice seemed to be calling out to him, so he looked up. In front of him was a plump boy nearly twice his size, and two heads taller than him. Riku recognised him immediately as the infamous bully from the school his older brother attended, who was notorious for picking on the smaller children at the playground located in this very park.

Riku tried to take a step back to run away, but his body would not cooperate with him. Seeing this the older boy sneered, taking a step forward to close the distance as a way to intimidate him. His eyes were on the little orange bucket the child was holding, specifically, the treats that it contained.

"Looks like you got some nice stuff with you there. Mind giving some to me?"

Clutching the bucket, Riku turned his body away from him as if to protect it. "N-No, you can't. It's mine."

"Don't be so selfish. I'm not going to take all of it." The boy reached out to grab Riku's arm, causing the boy to yelp. "I'll just take all but one."

"No!" Riku tried to fight back, but the other boy was too strong. "Let me go! Tenn-nii! Save me! Tenn-nii!"

"Hah? I don't know who you're calling, but there's no one here to save—"

"Let Riku go, you brute!" Tenn's yell was followed by a flying bucket of candy.

It hit the bully in the face, and the shock of the impact made him release his hold on the smaller child's arm. The older brother quickly grabbed his younger sibling to make their escape. Some of the candy fell out, but they managed to get away without much harm being done.

"Riku, are you okay?"

"I'm... fine..."

"Sorry to have made you run. It must be hard on your body. Come, sit down for a while." Tenn led his younger brother, who was breathing unsteadily and heavily, towards an empty bench for him to rest. "I'll get you something warm to drink so just wait... Riku?"

Riku had grabbed hold of Tenn's cape, stopping him from walking away. "Don't go. Stay here with me, Tenn-nii."

Tenn replied to his request with a nod and silently sat down next to him. He did not say anything to him but took Riku's hand, holding it dearly and tightly as he always does. This made the younger boy tear up, what he did to his brother weighing down on his heavy heart.

"Tenn-nii, I... I'm sorry... I..."

"Ahh, you don't have to worry about the candy. I don't usually eat that kind of things so I'm not bummed about losing them."

"That's not it! I... I said mean things to Tenn-nii. I didn't mean it when I say I hated Tenn-nii. I hurt you and I'm... I'm sorry! I like Tenn-nii, lots and lots! I like Tenn-nii the most!"

Tenn nodded, patting Riku's head with his other hand. "I know. I also like Riku the most, so I'm not angry."

Hearing those words made Riku happier than he could ever be, so much that he hugged his dear brother tightly. "Tenn-nii!"

Tenn hugged him back with a smile, patting his back soothingly. They stayed that way for a while until the redhead suddenly sneezed when a gust of wind blew past.

"Oh, my. It's late; we should be getting home." Pulling away from Riku, Tenn stood up and reached his hand out to him. "Come, let's go."

Nodding in agreement, Riku took that hand as he always would. With smiles on their faces, they returned home together.

"Say, Tenn-nii!" 

"What is it, Riku?"

"No matter what happens, even in the future, Tenn-nii will always be the person I like the most!"

"It's the same for me. Riku will always be the person I would love most."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Their mother was puzzled when the boys came home with only one bucket of candy instead of two, so they told her what had happened. She was furious upon learning the truth and contacted the bully's family the next day, as she had been acquainted with the child's mother. From what the twins have heard, he was soundly scolded and was even dragged to their place to apologise to them.

Even though he did not seem apologetic at all, Riku had forgiven him, being the kind child he was. Tenn, however, looked as if he wanted to maim him.

That was one of the many fond memories of the Nanase siblings which still remain dear in their hearts, even until today.

**\- END -**

**Author's Note:**

> I chose their costumes based on other roles I knew from their voice actors, because I was lazy to think of them. I hope the references were brought across.


End file.
